Memorex 8 Gb TravelDrive: Your Encryption Travel May Get A Little Bogged Down

As my continuing quest for the best little USB “thumb drive” goes on, as I have mentioned before, the computer user has many choices today. One of the most interesting I have found is the 8-Gigabyte TravelDrive from Memorex. I like the compatibility of its security software feature with VISTA, but I think that Memorex has taken a step backward with its new “Migo Portable Vault” software. The encryption software on the last TravelDrive I reviewed, the 4 Gb Mini version, is much more user friendly. We’ll get to that.

I have enjoyed employing Memorex’s thumb drives for a few years now, and I still like them a lot. One of the things I like the most about them is not simply that they hold a lot of data, of course, but you can place your data into privacy with Memorex’s security software. I have tried to encrypt data on other thumb drives, but this is (usually) the overall easiest-to-use system I have found so far.

One quickly discovers, however, as you may have noticed, that when you upgrade your computer to VISTA, or buy a new computer with VISTA, that there are compatibility (or should I say incompatibility) issues with the security software on USB drives just like other compatibility issues now plague many other of our favorite applications software programs. VISTA has become a mixed blessing, and one of its downsides is that if it doesn’t like your software, you are stuck. That is, unless you can go get a patch that works. Or a “VISTA-ready” program upgrade…hmm.

I quickly discovered this problem when I tried to use some of my older USB drives with VISTA. That is why I made sure that this 8 GB Memorex TravelDrive that was as advertised- “VISTA-ready.” If you need internal software in the USB drive to work with VISTA, you better check that when you buy, because there are a number of non-VISTA-compatible USB drives out there in late 2007.

When you first install the software, the installation program takes you easily through the steps to set up the security feature. You enter your password, and then you are ready to try it out.

You plug in the USB drive in the normal way, and there is the familiar “dong” sound you hear when you plug in any peripheral drive, and a little box appears confirming that your drive is being read. A few moments later, a box pops up in the middle of your display, and asks you for your password. You enter that, and a password hint, and your drive, with its privacy features running, are then working in the VISTA environment just like your other drives worked in the good old XP world.

But here is where this particular drive is inferior to last year’s 4 Gb Mini TravelDrive, in my opinion. With the 4 Gb unit, once you have confirmation of the password, you are good to go. It’s not that simple with the 8 Gb version. Here, even once you are inside the drive environment, you have to de-encrypt, use, and re-encrypt everything, every time, in every user session, while you sit around and wait. Gadzooks!

From a Memorex software security engineer’s perspective, I’m sure this is a really “boffo” thing (to try to figure out what adjective such hyper-intelligent left-brain “experts” must use to describe their euphoric heights of progress). But to Joe (or Jo) user, like you and me, Memorex has taken a backward step by apparently letting the software security people win out with the general manager over the marketing people.

Using an analogy, here is what using this “new” security setup is like compared to the “old” way. In the “old” way, using the 4 Gb unit, it was like coming up to your locked house. You unlock the door, then you are free to roam around the house at will and use everything you wish. When you leave, the door locks automatically behind you. Now, with the “new” 8 Gb unit, the analogy works like this: you go up to your house and go inside. Then, you must unlock each door to each room. And the closets, too. And the bathrooms. Only there is a time lock on each one and you must wait as the locks go through their timing sequence. You go inside each room you want then and do whatever you want. Then, when you exit the room, you must lock the door(s) again, again waiting on a timing sequence. All of that before you lock the main house door to exit. What a pain. In my case, I have to manipulate enough data that with the 4 Gb unit entry and exit takes about 1 minute, tops. With the “new and improved” 8 Gb’s security setup, add about 30 minutes to each usage time you use the “vault” software.

My solution? I’m only going to use the 8 Gb unit as a deep security archive drive, and I am not buying any more like it. With its 8 Gb capacity that will be ok for keeping stuff in flash memory for a long time, but that unnecessarily long time delay is way too impractical for my needs and that of most users. I know, the guy that sold it probably said, “But it really gives you good security this way.” And if you work at Los Alamos or Pantex and you are guarding nuclear weapons secrets, that level of security protection is probably worth it. But, alas, for most of us it is overkill. Way overkill. Like using a shotgun on a flea. Frankly, this borders on an insult to the consumer in my book, and Memorex is smart enough to know better.

Now, every USB drive user knows that you have to manually disengage the USB drive via a software procedure when you want to unplug the drive. Otherwise you risk data loss. The 4 Gb TravelDrive had its own unique icon and release, which I didn’t care for. On this one at least you go back to the standard USB drive icon and release setup. Simplify, simplify.

A USB “flash drive” is as handy as a pocket in a shirt. And they will easily fit into the pocket of a shirt. That portability and small size is a plus, but it also means, of course, that the TravelDrive is easy to lose or misplace. I wish it had a GPS feature where you might track it down if it were lost. This drive has a small loophole on the end and a connector to s split-ring; this is actually one of the best connection systems I have seen on a flash drive. I also like the rotation-into-the-cover scheme, too.

I just wish the security software engineers had left the user encryption software they had in place. In other words: If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! Too many engineers think that to show productivity they have to change things. But when change means regression, sales are gonna drop.

The things I really like, though, are its relatively high memory capacity and the fact that at least it has security program compatibility with VISTA, even if clunky. A year and a half ago I bought the 8 Gb “Megadrive” from Memorex and, while I liked the little box-like drive’s capacity, it was unprotected and anyone could get into it. I use it as a service drive. So I am at least glad to see Memorex moving in the right direction. I still like their products probably more than their competitors. I just wish they had made this drive one for the average consumer, and not the operatives of the NSA.

Two Stars/**